Prince Harry and Meghan Markle returned wedding gifts due to little-known rule (2024)

Royal fans excitedly flocked to Windsor on May 19 in 2018 to celebrate the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle - but there was a royal rule in place which meant many gifts had to be returned

When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle married in May 2018, fans flocked to Windsor hoping to catch a glimpse of the newlyweds. But a little-known rule meant that the couple were unable to accept any gifts that members of the public had brought along with them.

Harry and Meghan tied the knot on Saturday, May 19, 2018, in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. But prior to their big day, an official statement was sent out telling wellwishers that if they wished to buy the couple a gift, it should be sent to Kensington Palace instead of taking them to Windsor.

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The reason for this was because palace aides wanted to prevent people and companies from using the newlywed Duke and duch*ess of Sussex for publicity. It was previously reported that Harry and Meghan had to return £7 million in wedding gifts for that very reason.

Members of the royal family are not allowed to accept gifts that they could be seen to be advertising. According to official guidelines, "The fundamental principle governing the acceptance of gifts by Members of The Royal Family is that no gifts, including hospitality or services, should be accepted which would, or might appear to, place the Member of The Royal Family under any obligation to the donor."

Harry and Meghan did request one wedding gift ahead of the big day - a donation to one of seven charities of their choice: CHIVA, Crisis, Myna Mahalia Foundation, Scotty's Little Soldiers, StreetGames, Surfers Against Sewage, and The Wilderness Foundation UK.

Meghan also revealed the three key details she wanted on her wedding gown. She walked down the aisle looking exquisite in a Givenchy dress that took 3,900 hours - equivalent to 162 days - to make by a team of 50.

"I had a very clear vision of what I wanted for the day, and what I wanted the dress to look like, and so what was amazing in working with Clare is that sometimes you'll find designers try to push you in a different direction," Meghan previously said of designer Clare Waight Keller.

"But she just completely respected what I wanted to see for the day, and she wanted to bring that to life for me.

"So I knew at the onset I wanted a bateau neckline, I wanted a cropped sleeve, I wanted a very timeless, classic feeling and, obviously with respect to the environment we were in and St George's Chapel, being really modest in what it would look like, I knew that the tailoring was so key, because the dress itself would be so covered up."

A version of this story was first published on January 8, 2024.

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